AN expat is fighting to get a refund from an airline that went bust before even getting off the ground.
Leslie Hoar is furious that he has still not been refunded for the €96 flight he paid for with Hispania airlines in December.
The 65-year-old was left stranded in the run up to Christmas when the fledgling airline cancelled his flight from Granada to London Gatwick at the last minute.
He is angry that the company failed to return his money despite leaving him high and dry on Christmas Eve.
He has now joined a Facebook page called Affectados Hispania Airways which has been set up with hundreds of unfortunate Spanish and British travellers in a bid to get their money back.
“The whole situation is either a deplorable scam, or just an incredibly poor piece of Spanish organisation, possibly both” Hoar told the Olive Press.
“I was told I’d get a full refund,” he continued, “But when I contacted Visa they said the airline had not officially gone bust so I couldn’t claim on my insurance.
“Instead they told me to contact Hispania’s agent, Vista Travel.”
However the travel company with whom he had booked insisted it was not issuing refunds because it has also lost substantial monies after the company’s collapse.
Vista is now suing the airline’s CEO Luis Araque Rodríguez and is advising complainants to contact Granada Airport and the Spanish airport ombudsman AENA with their details.
A spokesman for Hispania was not available as we went to press.
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